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Debt limit mood darkens as GOP muddles own message

Mitch McConnell set the day's tone early with a blast aimed at the president. |
Jay Westcott/POLITICO
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Under the plan, Congress would authorize upward of $2.5 trillion in new borrowing authority for the Treasury that would become available in three increments: $700 billion this month, $900 billion more in the fall and a final $900 billion next summer. Obama would be required in each case to list corresponding savings, but under the new rules of the road, Congress could only stop each increase by adopting a veto-proof resolution of disapproval.

That would hand the power to one-third of each chamber, an infuriating prospect for the House Republican majority and its tea party faction. But for McConnell, it’s political catnip, because with just 47 GOP votes, he could put pressure on endangered Senate Democrats without risking actual default.

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Across the Capitol, a closed-door caucus of House Republicans broke up with the leadership conceding that it’s frankly at a loss about getting the votes before Treasury’s Aug. 2 deadline.

“Nothing can get through the House right now,” Cantor said after the White House meeting. “Nothing.”
Boehner gave a spirited defense of his negotiations with Obama on the larger $4 trillion package, saying he was still angry about the “lost opportunity” to do something genuinely big on deficit reduction and tax reform. The White House is still anxious to revive the tax reform talks, but Boehner said the president insisted on a level of progressivity that was unacceptable and never made the commitment Boehner wanted to structural reforms in Medicare and major benefit programs.

“The president keeps talking about the need for a ‘balanced’ approach,” Boehner said, according to persons in the room. “He thinks ‘balance” means ‘I spend, you pay.’”

McConnell is frustrated as well by what he sees as the lack of concrete detail yet on appropriations caps for the next two years—let alone 10.

April’s budget agreement, for example, set total discretionary spending at about $1.050 trillion for the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30, and House Republicans propose to bring that down by another $30 billion in 2012. Thus far in the deficit reduction talks, the administration has agreed to only a token $2 billion reduction –since it would argue that the $1.050 trillion figure overstates by about $17 billion the true discretionary spending reductions negotiated this spring.

It's really quite simple. Boehner needs to pass whatever the Republicans in the House want to pass. Then call a summer recess. Let Harry the Horrible and Dickster figure out the rest. The Pox will be on their houses.

Meanwhile McConnell needs to sit down and shut the F** up. Watching McConnell and Reid is just too Nursing Home ****ing match for me.

“Nothing can get through the House right now,” Cantor said after the White House meeting. “Nothing.”

Cantor said it. The Republican Party is in shambles. They sold their sold to the highest bidder to get votes and now they are raping what they have sown.

After watching Republicans hate on all the people who voted for Democrats I realized this: That in order for Republicans to even get elected, they need to exploit the emotions of people using anti-gay rhetoric along with some fear mongering like “death panels” mixed with a little contentious associations such as the anti ACORN and Planned Parenthood right-wing propaganda. Throw all that in with the “Obama is a Kenyan Muslim” stuff and you get a whole lot of ignorant people throwing away their votes on the worst possible candidate.

Michel Bachman for example actively fights the teaching of evolution in science classes. After all that science has created for humanity, Republicans will still deny any science that contradicts their, cursory but required to be elected, political beliefs. Take away these tools of fear from the Republican Party and you are left with nothing. Crickets.

The Republican leadership is a joke!!

First the Treasury asks Congress to raise the debt limit. Then the Republican House says they won't without cuts to government spending. So the Democrats begin negotiations including cuts to their sacredly held social programs and ask for some quid pro quo. Republicans balk and cry and try to change the rules.

Republicans are a bunch of righteous rich people spewing lies about how tax cuts create jobs (which they don't) and that now after years of spending they care about the debt?

I'm tired of Republicans. It was all a nice puppet show. Foolish Republican voters actually think that Republicans are going to repeal the Heath Care Reforms and ban earmarks and bring "freedom" back.

Republicans don’t actually stand for anything, and funny thing is, no one asks them to.

Nice try to give Obama a pass for his lie about SS checks. It is all political show for him. When you have a pseudo-news conference each day and preen around for Politico writers, it is obvious you are playing just to the DC types. The rest of US in the hinterlands know what a disaster his presidency is. How can we minimize the damage he does to this country over his last 17 months.

Impeach the Dictator in Chief Obama now!!! His executive order destroying the 2nd amendment is grounds enough for impeachment. Somebody find the duct tape and put it firmly over McConnell's mouth!!! Stand firm Republicans. If you cave now, all is lost.

Foreign investors will reduce their purchases of US Treasuries on a permanent basis, and in fact will start selling their holdings. Every time interests rates rise by 50 basis points it will cost taxpayers an additional $75 billion dollars each year. Our U.S. sovereign credit rating will be downgraded by Standard and Poor’s. They have already said they will do this if we do not reach compromise. There will be run on money market funds, which are based on the full faith and credit of the U.S. Many money market funds will halt redemptions. This will cause bank runs. Banks will no longer be backed by the FDIC, who will unable to finance squat. There will be waves of margin calls and haircuts on collateral. Lending will stop. The economy will tank even further. Much further. Unemployment will start to skyrocket again, and we’ll wish for the days of a 700,000 a month loss. The responsibility for this will fall squarely on the shoulders of conservative Republicans who have already voted against raising the debt ceiling, and remain opposed to raising the debt ceiling.

The debt ceiling will be raised...stop being a goof. When all is said and done, it will be raised and both sides will claim victory...it's so stupid.

Nice try to give Obama a pass for his lie about SS checks. It is all political show for him. When you have a pseudo-news conference each day and preen around for Politico writers, it is obvious you are playing just to the DC types. The rest of US in the hinterlands know what a disaster his presidency is. How can we minimize the damage he does to this country over his last 17 months.

While I agree with your opinion, the Reps are doing the exact same thing.